Happy Feast of Saint Joseph!Saint Joseph is an unknown saint. Not only do we know so little about him, we often don’t really explore what little we do know or what he can teach us. This past week we all have been following Flight 370 and the 239 people who are still mysteriously missing. As one commentator said, we feel almost glued to our screens—whether TV, computer, tablet or phone—grasping any detail that can help our minds make sense of what has happened. If we can’t...

Jesus assures us of the safety of his love and the promise of our worth with the statement:The kingdom of God is within you.It is as if he said: You are destined for an eternal Good you are already starting here in this life to taste. Do not be afraid of your infinite desire. You are loved as if you alone existed in the universe.We are each and all brought into being and kept in being by a constant Embrace that never leaves us. This is why we can be happy. This is why, no matter what happens, we...

So, how’s Lent? I’m guessing that on Ash Wednesday you walked up and rang the doorbell. Having stepped into the foyer of Lent’s home, let’s turn around and look again at the front door that opened to us that day–fasting. It’s also the back door that we’ll pass through on Good Friday, as we head out to the garden of Easter Sunday. Try not to cringe. The spiritual masters of every major religion, and even health gurus, hail the benefits of fasting to mind, soul, and body. Christian fasting,...

I remember the best Lent I ever had. That year, I noticed on the First Sunday of Lent a phrase in the story of Jesus’ temptation: “ … he remained in the desert” (Mark 1:13). This phrase struck me because there were situations in my life at the time that were very desert-like, in the sense of feeling empty and desolate. So my Lent became a time of remaining with Jesus in that desert. Lent was not usually my favorite time of the liturgical year, but I was surprised to find myself “enjoying” ...

 Join Pauline Books & Media and the Daughters of St. Paul as they exhibit at the 2014 Mid Atlantic Congress! On Friday, Feb, 28 and Saturday, March 1, meet author Lynn Cassella-Kapusinski and learn about her ministry to help children heal from divorce. Her guidebook, When Parents Divorce or Separate: I Can Get Through This helps children ages 8-12 grow in faith through interactive learning in a private or group setting. Our publishing house is celebrating 2014 with more than 2...

"A world without God, without absolute moral values rooted in divine revelation, irrevocably turns into the realm of the rule of slavery and lawlessness." —Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, head of the Department of External Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow Patriarchate, in an address at a conference in London yesterday The Russian theologian Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev is a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church who has become well-known in Orthodoxy, and among Christia...

We daily hear information in the news regarding Syria. Here is a look into the country through the eyes of its Archbishop +Samir NASSAR. In reading it we hope that you take a moment to pray and to be in solidarity with our fellow brothers and sisters who are living even this as a moment of hope: Syria: A fourth Lent spent in war?(1) A CHAOTIC SITUATION:     A fourth year Lent spent in war will mean pain and violence. The Geneva II peace conference[1] hasn’t change anything at the moment. New st...

Overly ambitious, Pompeii falls a bit short of its reach but helps us ponder the human heart by exploring the range of human responses in the face of unexpected tragedy.  It’s hard to talk about a film in the disaster genre without giving away what happens: who survives and who doesn’t? Also, I need to add a disclaimer: disaster movies are one of my least-favorite genres because the plot is so predictable and the “narrow escapes” of the characters are so unrealistic. Despite these weaknesses...

Ash Wednesday is coming. Are you looking forward to it?  Whether you like Lent or would rather skip it, Lent can give us a fresh start in our spiritual life. It’s like spring cleaning for the soul, a time when we can dispose of the clutter that’s been clogging our spirit. But if you would like this Lent to be a step forward in your spiritual life, choose only one thing to focus on.Focusing on one thing can make a real difference. You might compare it to what happens when you use a magnifying g...

The Catholic Church preaches the good news of Jesus Christ 24/7. Members of the Church preach in and outside of Church buildings. Every Catholic is engaged in "preaching." We, in fact, are a great body of preachers, of evangelizers, and we spread the Gospel as good news in many different ways. Most probably we associate preaching with the homily “preached” by the priest at Mass. Pope Francis, however, views preaching much more dynamically. Pope Francis, in The Joy of the Gospel, describes ho...